Government Continues to Reduce Tuberculosis Cases in Indonesia

Jakarta – The government continues to accelerate the elimination of tuberculosis (TB) in Indonesia. This is done through various steps, ranging from intensifying surveillance or detection, and treatment, to providing vaccines.

The Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said Indonesia currently has the second largest Tuberculosis population in the world after India with an estimated 969,000 cases.

"In Indonesia, it is estimated that there are 969 thousand of our people affected by TB. Until before COVID-19, the most that could be identified was 545 thousand, so the remaining 400 thousand were not detected, even though this is an infectious disease that can spread everywhere," the Minister said in a press statement at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, after attending a limited meeting chaired by Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), on Tuesday. 

Minister Sadikin emphasized that in 2022, the Government will accelerate TB detection so that in that year the cases will reach 720 people, an increase from before the COVID-19 pandemic which only detected around 545 thousand people.

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Menteri kesehatan RI Budi Gunadi Sadikin di Istana Kepresidenan, Jakarta

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• Biro Pers, Media dan Informasi Sekretariat Presiden

"Now with the incessant government program, it has increased, those found or detected have increased to 720 thousand. We hope that by 2024, 90 percent of the estimated 969 thousand can be found or detected," he explained. 

Regarding treatment, the President asked related officials to prepare a special quarantine near the location of TB. 

In addition to preventing transmission to the patient's family, the quarantine is also expected to make TB patients disciplined in taking medicine because TB treatment lasts for six months with a minimum of two full months until the medicine works.

"As directed by the President, a special quarantine will be prepared for two months. So, for two months he does not infect his family, he is put into a special quarantine, I was told to cooperate with the Minister of PUPR so that he cannot be contagious and given medicine to ensure he continues to take medicine for two months," Minister Sadikin said. 

Then related to vaccination, the government is conducting a study to bring in a new TB vaccine because the BCG vaccine is considered low in effectiveness. 

According to him, Indonesia is currently actively participating with world organizations and there are three potential new vaccines that the government will bring in.

"The closest is a vaccine invented by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), then taken over by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, now in the process of clinical trials in Indonesia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health with UI (University of Indonesia) and Padjajaran University, with BPOM (Food and Drug Supervisory Agency)," he said.

In addition to the recombinant protein TB vaccine from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), two other vaccine candidates being studied by the government are mRNA (BioNTech - Biopharma) and viral vectors (CanSino - Etana).

Regarding the budget allocation, the Minister of Health said that his party also received assistance from several parties such as USAID amounting to US$ 70 million for the TB eradication program. 

The budget is not only used by the government but also by community organizations to help eradicate Tuberculosis. 

"So, specifically for TB, in terms of budget, there is no problem, apart from the existing government budget. But, the donations that come in are far greater than the government's budget," the Minister of Health concluded. 

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In addition to preventing transmission to the patient's family, the quarantine is also expected to make TB patients disciplined in taking medicine because TB treatment lasts for six months with a minimum of two full months until the medicine works.